I am all for this. I can't stand the way so many Disney fans on the boards whine that Disney doesn't put anything new into WDW, and then when they do, whine that "Oh, but that's not what I wanted, I meant that not only should they put into something new, but it should be THIS and THIS only, because it's my idea, and I know better than anyone! Wah wah wah!"

I don't think Avatar was a great movie, but I think it good make a great theme park attraction. And if you make a great theme park attraction, then people will love it.

(A good example being Transformers at Uni, I think the Transformer movies are big steaming turds that I would never sit through again, unlike Avatar which I would, but I would never dismiss that they can't make a good theme park ride out of it.)

Depends, I don't really like the movie, I don't think it would be really cool to be immersed in an entire land based on a movie I didn't like, even if it has a cool ride or 2. I'm sure it will be pretty to look at though.

I'm not for Carsland in DHS either - they have a Carsland in Anaheim already. I'm more for adding some elements of it and making it a general Pixar thing, adding in a Ratatouille restaurant and some Monsters stuff.

I am all for this. I can't stand the way so many Disney fans on the boards whine that Disney doesn't put anything new into WDW, and then when they do, whine that "Oh, but that's not what I wanted, I meant that not only should they put into something new, but it should be THIS and THIS only, because it's my idea, and I know better than anyone! Wah wah wah!"

I don't think Avatar was a great movie, but I think it good make a great theme park attraction. And if you make a great theme park attraction, then people will love it.

(A good example being Transformers at Uni, I think the Transformer movies are big steaming turds that I would never sit through again, unlike Avatar which I would, but I would never dismiss that they can't make a good theme park ride out of it.)

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The voice of reason! Thank you!

I've never been a fan of the idea of a whole "land" based on Avatar. But a ride or two, plus a shop and snack/CS area would be fine. Soarin' isn't based on anything, and it is a "must do" for most people. Spalsh Mountain is based on a terrible movie that isn't even available for purchase or rent any more. But the ride is great. What percentage of DHS guests have seen a single original episode of The Twilight Zone? Does that stop them from queing up for ToT?? Aerosmith? Hello!! 1978 called and it wants its hair and Spandex back. But that won't stop me from loving RnR.

Who gives a flip if you didn't like Avatar? If the ride is technologically awesome and visually stunning, you will grab your FP. If "I loved the movie" was a litmus test for appreciating a ride at WDW, most of us would probably stay home, as the majority of rides that we all know and love were either not based on movies at all, or were based on pretty bad ones. People still cry over the loss of the Toad. But the cartoon it was based on? Please!!

I've never been a fan of the idea of a whole "land" based on Avatar. But a ride or two, plus a shop and snack/CS area would be fine. Soarin' isn't based on anything, and it is a "must do" for most people. Spalsh Mountain is based on a terrible movie that isn't even available for purchase or rent any more. But the ride is great. What percentage of DHS guests have seen a single original episode of The Twilight Zone? Does that stop them from queing up for ToT?? Aerosmith? Hello!! 1978 called and it wants its hair and Spandex back. But that won't stop me from loving RnR.

Who gives a flip if you didn't like Avatar? If the ride is technologically awesome and visually stunning, you will grab your FP. If "I loved the movie" was a litmus test for appreciating a ride at WDW, most of us would probably stay home, as the majority of rides that we all know and love were either not based on movies at all, or were based on pretty bad ones. People still cry over the loss of the Toad. But the cartoon it was based on? Please!!

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For me, this isn't so much an issue with me not enjoying the movie as not seeing it as a good fit for Disney/AK. As I said when responding to PP who suggested a LOTR theme - although I LOVE those books/movies, I don't think it's the right choice here. It would work better in DHS, and even then I think it would make more sense for them to do something like a Star Wars area in that park before LOTR.

I also agree that while I really enjoy RnRc, I think Aerosmith was an odd choice. In a similar vein, I think the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor is a great attraction, but what is it doing in Tomorrowland?

I think you are right in your point that rides and attractions certainly do not need to be based on a good movie to be successful. And I'm not saying Avatarland will be anything less than innovative, immersive, and imaginative. My opinion is simply that there are other themes Disney could choose for this much-needed expansion that will be a better fit for the park.

The OP requested that we keep Avatar bashing out of this thread, so I won't state my opinions there. But - is anyone else surprised to see that what was supposed to be avatar "land" is merely a building housing 2 attractions and a gift shop? Sounds a lot like the Land building at Epcot to me, just a larger scale.

I guess I just figured whatever they did, it would be bigger and have more to it...

I'm good with a building rather than a full land. I also think AK needs a boat ride. I think some may be holding out for a power coaster but I don't see WDW going in that direction right now - a Soarin type ride sounds about right, hope they put a different spin on it.

The OP requested that we keep Avatar bashing out of this thread, so I won't state my opinions there. But - is anyone else surprised to see that what was supposed to be avatar "land" is merely a building housing 2 attractions and a gift shop? Sounds a lot like the Land building at Epcot to me, just a larger scale.

I guess I just figured whatever they did, it would be bigger and have more to it...

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The leaked plans are for THAT particular building only. Not the entire land.

In fact (from WDWMagic):

"Walt Disney Imagineering has recruited back to the company legendary rockwork and environment specialist Zsolt Hormay to produce the exterior environments for the upcoming AVATARland at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Zsolt has been involved in Disney's most elaborate and spectacular exteriors in the past 20 years, including Mysterious Island at Tokyo DisneySea, the Tree of Life at Disneys Animal Kingdom, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris.

Zsolt Hormay will be working under Joe Rohde, the creative lead on the AVATAR project."

But - is anyone else surprised to see that what was supposed to be avatar "land" is merely a building housing 2 attractions and a gift shop? Sounds a lot like the Land building at Epcot to me, just a larger scale.

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Actually, this is exactly what I had hoped would happen. A small themed area similar to what they have built around Star Tours is all that is warranted. This would be a nice compromise between those who despise Avatar, and those who would welcome a new thrill ride to AK. Coming off the heels of WWoHP and the FLE, perhaps people here, (and in Disney Imagineering) were envisioning something on a more grand scale. I never thought that would be wise. Looks like that won't happen.

I am really disappointed with the idea of another Soarin' type ride. While Soarin' is fun enough, I remember one thread here who thought the entire thing was the preshow, and that at the end the ride was about to begin! Being suspended over an IMAX screen is cool but I expect more from a ride.

The boat ride looks interesting enough, and would be a good addition to Animal Kingdom.

I hate to say this yet again, but the ride system for the Forbidden Journey at Universal is crazy good. Disney would be in their element designing something like this, and I think they should invite the inevitable comparisons and design a ride with something like that or Spiderman in mind. Universal has gotten ahead of them when it comes to quality dark ride attractions in the last few years.

BUT I take these early plans with a grain of salt. New Fantasyland barely resembles the original plans that were chock full of princess meet & greets and a fairy playground. The decision to add another great ride was an excellent one and I think Fantasyland as built is hugely improved over the early plans.

New Fantasyland barely resembles the original plans that were chock full of princess meet & greets and a fairy playground.

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This is true and thank goodness for that.

I even liked Belle's enchanted tale, which I think is the only survivor of the originally planned princess interactions - although I'd imagine it's pretty different after official opening, as there were no children in the audience I was in and they had to get all adult volunteers to do the show (they really didn't have any trouble getting them either, of course the biggest guy was picked to play the Beast)

Disney doesn't seem in the mood to build stuff that the whole family can't ride. As cool as Forbidden Journey is, there are a LOT of people who can't ride it. The mine train going up at MK is probaby going to exclude the youngest, looks like it's on a par with Big Thunder, so I don't know if they'll do it again; on the other hand, Avatar isn't a children's film and they might not be aiming for children.

Except in the case of the work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine getting leaked.

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I'm unfamiliar with that particular leak, but I still maintain that leaks are orchestrated (for the most part). When you have a production as big as a film or an amusement park land/ride etc, there are just too many people involved to expect they'll all stay silent. Better to control the flow of info and let stuff slip out as they want it to.

I was going to create a thread since this was starting to pop up all over. It seems Cameron has come to an agreement with Disney, likely for the scaled down, plan B version of Avatarland. Disney has also hired an environment and rockwork legend back into the company to work on Avatarland.

I can voucher for the author of this post, he knows what he is talking about.

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That is great info! Thanks for sharing the link. I will be interested to hear more about the plans for this in the coming days and weeks.

I would also be interested to know if there is an area planned in this section of the park for an evening show. I saw speculation on another thread somewhere about adding something similar to WoC, and how that could fit within Avatarland. Something like that would enable them to do a nighttime spectacular that doesn't involve fireworks, and this expansion would provide enough attractions (along with EE and KRR) to keep sections of the park open after dark.